Hi anons. I'm a drunk amateur game designer/programmer and

Crawl back to whatever Anthony Burch centered subreddit you came from.

I like a world where a subquest can have just as much an impact as a main quest

>>383446727
what makes you say that, exactly? I'd hate for my game to be seen as anything pretentious if I can help it. My main concern is inmersion.

>>383448175
Thanks. I'll keep that in mind. It'd be fun to think of big consequences from small actions and shit. That's real.

>>383449280
doesn't even need to be big consequence, just mean a lot to the people it deals with

>>383444916
I'm not going to get lost and immersed in graphics that look like shit. So either have a very stylized and artistic component to your game, or have it be very realistic. With you being indie I would suggest a stylized art style. As for getting lost, sounds boring if there are not landmarks I can use to get a waypoint of where I'm at.

>>383449437
To add to what this anon said, great sound design is also crucial. Even the most detailed or stylised graphics will do jack fucking shit if the audio doesn't help you get immersed. Don't make your world too condensed either, shit becomes unbelievable when there are two separate villages/towns 100m apart like in Skyrim or FO4. Fill up your world with other shit instead.

>>383449437
to add to this, have a healthy mix of marked and unmarked landmarks, to both reward exploration and act as natural anchors for your settings

>>383449419
True. I'll try to keep it reasonable, and not "surprise" the players just for the sake of it.

>>383449437
I hadn't thought about landmarks, I'll also write that down. Along with some "samey" environments with interesting variables. And yeah, i'd bet on something more artsy for the graphics. I'll do my best.

>>383450036
Muisc is very important to me. I fucking love EO just for that alone, anon. Im a big fan of Yuzo Koshito. And I'll have to study a bit regarding sound design, you're right.

>>383450121
That sounds really nice, I'll keep it in mind, also. Thanks

>>383450590
the most important thing to me is to be a part of a larger whole

>>383450036
Also, i'd like to make a small but interesting world instead of something like Skyrim or recent Fallouts. Now that i think about it Majoras Mask is also a good reference for what I want to accomplish.

>>383450897
What sort of mechanics make you feel that, anon? Tell me about your favorite vidya

>>383451146
Not necessarily my favorite, but most recent in my mind was my replaying new vegas. While flawed and a bit unsatisfying, it scratched the itch of a living world most in a good bit. Just hearing about stuff that happened from npcs across the map made sense when they were important happenings, smaller things were more contained.

also, when focus was shifted off the player character, it was done to good effect and tasteful, not at expense of the narrative

The only game I can think of that made me feel "lost" in an enjoyable way (not just wandering a map looking for a key or something) was PT. I played it blind and didn't have a fucking clue what was happening and was disoriented the whole time.

So I'd say if you want people to feel lost, make it grounded in some relatable sense, something for the player to be led away from.

I looked up the game you cited and it looked like random shit. I wouldn't feel lost playing that game because I don't expect to get anywhere I understand in the first place

>>383451428
>>383451546
I'm worried because I don't know how much puzzle solving or narrative incentives should be involved.

Yume nikki is mostly random shit desu, I'm afraid that a lot of it's charm comes from the developer being anonymous. I enjoy the fact that no one knows the purpose or reasoning behind almost everything. But yeah, I don't know if I want to waste so much time in something that niche and I actually want to make a living out of this

>>383452606
>I'm worried because I don't know how much puzzle solving or narrative incentives should be involved.

Well you probably won't know answer to this stuff until you start making stuff, see what works and what doesn't. If you're real & willing to put in the work & listen to people giving you harsh critiques, you'll make something playable & not pretentious indie trash

It sounds like you don't want to make a game. It sounds like you want to share ideas or visions you had and have people excited for them.

>>383444916
If you can make an Alice in Wonderland kinda game that looks and feels good, then I would play it. I don't mean Alice Madness Returns, but like story and experience-wise like a weird adventure.

Why are idea guys the worst things in the world? They always ruin whatever game jam I'm at or project I'm working on. They never have any understanding of scope.

>>383453036
Yeah, I want to get my shit together and start developing as soon as possible to experiment. This thread has made me more conscious of some things I did'n't expect so I don't think it's a waste or anything.

>>383453841
I won't lie, that could be the case. But I made a small proyect in Unity for college so at least I know I'm capable of making it and I believe it's worth a try. If I'm being pretentious I can only hope to realize it before I waste more of my life.

>>383455338
I don't really expect to end up with anything greater in scope than a really neat flash game. I want to build a portfolio, not the next undertale.
I've felt like that idea guy for like 7 years now, althought I usually keep my dreams to myself.

I felt exactly what you described when I first played minecraft. Hell, I didn't know what I would find every time I left my house and went exploring.

In order to get lost somewhere, you need to be looking for something in the first place.
I'm all for immersion in games but I hate these open world eyecandy walking simulators that have fancy landscapes and setpieces with no reason to explore them. Set an expectation or goal of the player first, and then try your best to distract them from it.

I'll go to sleep now. Thanks a lot for everyones time, comments and doubts. I feel more confident and grounded thanks to this.
If I post here again It'll be in /agdg/ with something to show for it. Good night, anons

File: GOTY.jpg (13KB, 276x182px) Image search: [Google]

13KB, 276x182px

>>383444916
this pls

>>383456679
procedural generation often turns out like shit, also, its much harder to create an atmosphere out of, i feel like. it adds replayability to a "lost"-feeling tyoe game, but the game mechanics would have to be sound to get someone to replay it. like minecraft, i guess, but hopefully less autistic in nature

>>383444916
>for the sole experience of getting lost somewhere.
a game has rules for winning and losing

if getting lost is the object of your "game" it's not a game

>>383444916
>Game centered around exploring
>combat system like For Honor (slow yet deliberate combat that makes you think) with a dash of RPG-esque character building
>set in the Nordic iron age with Beowulf

>>383460689
this is definitely a good point, at the least theres gotta be a way to lose or die, and if its not simply a survival game, then id guess thered have to be a goal or win condition

>>383460843
>For Honor
try chivalry or mordhau, faggot

>set in skyrim
enough of this

>>383460689
>a game has rules for winning and losing
Grandpa your dinner is ready.

>>383444916
I live in Canada and do a lot of snowmobiling in the winter. One of my fears is getting lost on the trails at night or having to stumble around in pitch darkness. I've always thought that it would make a good premise for a horror game, although I'm not sure what you can do other than make it a walking simulator with some spooky noises every now and then.

>>383461428
There's a game similar to what you described called The long dark

>walk down path in forest
>see something off the path, take a few steps into the trees
>turn around, path is gone
>no matter how much you look the path doesn't appear

Fund it
This is exactly what happened in a dream of mine, I woke up in a sweat

> should I make a lost survival game like all those other Devs

no

So what's even the goal the game? Do you survive or do you Hunt something? Do you have to evade something?